Retro Toronto Thread for Nostalgia Purposes.

essguy_

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Nov 1, 2001
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Who remembers phones having a party line?
yeahhhhh….lol. Good call..lol.

Speaking of phone technology. How many here can say that they have arranged an appointment with an SP by payphone? When I started hobbying, cellphones were available - but the first one's my company used were the size of a small lunch box and you signed it out so that you could be in touch if you wanted to go out for lunch. Later - they were reduced to the size of brick. It was only when they got down to flip phone size that many people started buying and carrying all the time. So carrying quarters was a requirement to be a hobbyist "back in the day"...

I bet there are some members who have never seen a payphone!
 
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black booty lover

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Speaking of phone technology. How many here can say that they have arranged an appointment with an SP by payphone? When I started hobbying, cellphones were available - but the first one's my company used were the size of a small lunch box and you signed it out so that you could be in touch if you wanted to go out for lunch. Later - they were reduced to the size of brick. It was only when they got down to flip phone size that many people started buying and carrying all the time. So carrying quarters was a requirement to be a hobbyist "back in the day"...

I bet there are some members who have never seen a payphone!

Oh big time. My first SP (which I still see to this day) was around 2000 and I was in my mid 20's with not to much money and at that time most people my age didn't have one. My SP was located at bloor and Bathurst. I used to have call her from the pay phone in a grocery store across from her building. Sometimes she would say "call back in 10 minutes" and it would happen a few times so it was a pain in the ass...lol.
 

unassuming

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Can't believe no one has mentioned "Bamboo" night club on queen west, that place was cool, saw some great acts there...Fishbone, Bop Harvey, Satallites, Shuffle Demons, L'etranger....
 

JackBurton

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Jan 5, 2012
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Can't believe no one has mentioned "Bamboo" night club on queen west, that place was cool, saw some great acts there...Fishbone, Bop Harvey, Satallites, Shuffle Demons, L'etranger....

The Shuffle Demons!! That takes me back. Get on the Spadina bus!!
 

bluebro69

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Ahh, speaking of CITY TV in its glory days, my heart still beats a little harder for Ziggy Lorenc. She wasn't even especially pretty, but man she was sexy. I saw her in person once, she smiled at me, and I was in heaven for days.
 

unassuming

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-"Sparkles" night club, atop the CN Tower!
-there was a time when strippers could not go totally nude, they could only strip down to their G-string.
-Consumers Distributors
-Aikenheads
-Collegiate Sports at, IIRC , York and Richmond???, bought all my sporting goods there back in the day
"Gimlets" strip joint on Victoria St , south of Queen st.
 

saxon

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The Concert Hall, also known as the Masonic Temple at Yonge and Davenport. Saw dozens of metal concerts there, Motörhead, Anvil, Exciter, Saxon, Razor, Wasp, Venom, Metallica, Slayer etc.
 

black booty lover

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"The Mistake by the Lake" or "Exorcism Stadium", I miss that old stadium, fans were much rowdier back then, funt imes, saw quite a few double headers there!
Yup! When I was young sitting in the bleachers in left field, I would argue that it was pretty close to the craziness at old Yankees stadium in left. Everyone drunk, half the people had no idea what was going on in the game cause they were to busy getting shit faced..lol.
 

essguy_

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Nov 1, 2001
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I just saw this on facebook a few weeks ago.
I worked at Ontario Place for many summers during University. Great memories - it was like working at a well paid (for a summer job) summer camp. Children’s Village staff was 90% female and mostly cute. During the summer, staffing was predominantly University students, mixed with full time Ontario Place staff who worked year round. There were great staff parties and lots of day off activities where different department groups would go camping, to a cottage, of some other group thing. I have fond memories of making out with my then GF (for part of the summer) in the storage space underneath one of the Children’s Village ladder slides during her break. Man, this is bringing back a flood of memories!

Btw, Ontario Place is open now as a Park, so you can walk or ride through. Children’s Village is all cleared out, with only the big water slide structure remaining. All the restaurants are empty - but would be great as an entertainment district if some re-opened. “Sailor’s Pub” is now the marina office (at Ontario Place’s height of popularity - Sailor’s pub would have a huge lineup most nights). Ford is taking about opening a Casino on the site which would be a mistake, IMO. Casino’s never make as much money as expected and suck the life out of surrounding areas. It would be better to redevelop the site as a joint Park/entertainment district.

Oh and for a sign of the times - I could work all summer at Ontario Place (living with my parents) and have enough for the entire school year’s tuition and rent and books/expenses, with enough leftover for the odd night out too. Feel sorry for my kids who need the Bank of Dad to get through even working full time for the summer. It’s pretty much impossible to get a summer job that will pay University expenses for a kid these days.
 

unassuming

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Remember the "Miles for Millions" walkathons to raise funds for the under privelidged? I participated in a few of those and of course the initial "Terry Fox" run for cancer research.
 

shack

Nitpicker Extraordinaire
Oct 2, 2001
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Toronto
Here's one I don't think anyone mentioned.

The Victory Burlesque. I went as a 16 year old. The dancer had to wear pasties.

And the old Shopsy's Deli, very close by. Cafeteria style and they would cut the meat by hand in front of you.

The Hayloft was a pretty good place to down a couple of pitchers of beer.
 
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